I was all psyched to order a Ridley but I've heard/read nothing but problems with sizing on these bikes. Even had a great chance to get one off EBay (like brand new) but balked b/c of all the fuss about sizing. Even in this forum you can pick up on a negative vibe from folks who've just got their bikes and are frustrated with the short tt, tall hs, and high center of gravity. Now, I'm a little freaked out about getting mine. Any other experiences anyone wants to share.

forgot to mention...anyone had better luck w/ the Felt cx bike (cx for racing use only)

I have 2000 model and I love it. Great bike. Newer models have what is referred to as Italian Geometry. If you are long legged and short torsoed these bikes will fit you like a dream. Go to cx world and check the geo. to see if it works for you. find the size with the TT equal to or as close as as your roadie and check the ST and stand over. If it fit's you'll be quite happy. I have an older model which was more square in geometry (equal-ish ST to TT) which fits me great. I couldn't own a new one was they don't fit me anymore.

I have 2000 model and I love it. Great bike. Newer models have what is referred to as Italian Geometry. If you are long legged and short torsoed these bikes will fit you like a dream. Go to cx world and check the geo. to see if it works for you. find the size with the TT equal to or as close as as your roadie and check the ST and stand over. If it fit's you'll be quite happy. I have an older model which was more square in geometry (equal-ish ST to TT) which fits me great. I couldn't own a new one was they don't fit me anymore.

Remember too, the measurements on cxworld in the "A" colomn are c-c. The new ones are REALLY tall. They don't list bb drop on the geo table, but the bb height sure looks high too, further reducing stand-over.

forgot to mention...anyone had better luck w/ the Felt cx bike (cx for racing use only)

Dig my Felt. Handles well, light, and looks tight, what more can you ask for.

All of the tubes that are vertical on the Ridley are quite long. When all built up, everything is pretty high off the ground. I ride a 58 top tube road bike (really 58.5 w/ a 120 stem), but generally go with a 56 cross frame and have good luck. The 56 Ridley was way too small for me, with a 120 stem, the cockpit area from the nose of the seat to the handlebar center was about 2.5 inches shorter, with the seat hammered all the way back. Can't fix that with a stem. So, if a 56 would fit you, buy mine off ebay now, it's got about a day.

I don't have an opinion on the merit of such a tall bike, I only rode it on the road until I figured out it was too small. It seems very nicely made, though I had to buy a non-standard seat post to fit it, 31 point something, which was not the size they speced, making me wonder a little about QC.

forgot to mention...anyone had better luck w/ the Felt cx bike (cx for racing use only)

Just got a used Felt cx frame. The sizing is perfect. The top tube is same length as my road bike and the head tube is a bit taller than my road bike. The bottom bracket height is only slightly taller than my road bike. Will post pics when get it built.

I have a Ridley X-Night, size 58 cm....whenever I get on it, it feels huge - and i have a 61cm colnago c-40 road bike.
By way of comparison, I also have a 58 cm Empella Bonfire SL cyclocross bike, which feels much smaller than the Ridley

a 61 Nag is like a 59 by most road bikes. I ride a 60 or 61 Merckx and 63 Nags.
Empellas run like Bianchis C-T so a 58 empella is similar in TT and fit as a 58 roadie yet it's S/O is improved by having a 56 C-C seattube. I like their way of measuring as in most cases you just get the same size as your roadie (# wise)

do you like riding around on the ridley? Maybe I would have gotten used to being so high up off the ground. I'm not so nimble about hopping up high in the air as I used to be, however. In any event, the Ridley is sold and I'm back on a circa 2003 or so Specialized, which is really quite nice and is now the same size as my road bike, which isn't as bad as I expected, it just took some getting used to.

Just got a 2005 crossbow, 58cm, it is tall when next to my old steel, exaggerated also by the bigger tubes.
I must admit it rides like a dream though, I haven't raced on it yet, but the 'agressive' geometry (relative to my old bike of course) makes it feel nippy. The bigger head-tube, for me, is welcome as I had been suffering lower back problems.
The only problem I had was that the paint was so thick on the rear drop-outs that I had to get the file out in order to fit my wheels!

My 2005 crossbow is (was i need say) 60cm. Even with me measuring 6 feet this is way too tall. I had it replaced by a Crossbow 52 center-top, which suits me fine now.

he looks real leggy and maybe they are designing them around him. my ole 2000 is 57.5 or 58 CC ST with a 59 TT. great geometry and quite the couch. my #1 choice on nasty courses.

I sold my Felt and have a Ridley on the way (2006 Crosswind with a Scandium downtube). The Felt was fine, but try dealing with the company sometime... NO THANKS! The US importer for Ridley is a much better company to deal with and they actually have bikes in stock :) I can give you a ride comparison next week, if you are still on the bubble as to which bike to look into.

I know what you mean about the ridley sizing. I was dead set on one until I tried to figure out a size. In order to get the proper tt I would have had to get a frame with a standover at least 2 inches taller than my road bikes. I ended up buying a Fort crossmax yesterday. Top tubes are longer. They sell directly, no retailer, so the price is fair. Greg at Fort knows his stuff and walked me through the process. I should have it in about a week.

How do you like those Spinergy's for cross? I have the SS version, and would like to use them in cross races, but I'm afraid to trash them on roots or rocks.

I have a Ridley X-Night, size 58 cm....whenever I get on it, it feels huge - and i have a 61cm colnago c-40 road bike.
By way of comparison, I also have a 58 cm Empella Bonfire SL cyclocross bike, which feels much smaller than the Ridley

dude! can i borrow some money?